2 Comments:

What the hell happened to fun comics you could read with your kids. When I was 10, Avengers was my favorite book. That was back in the days of John Byrne, the classic Grey Gargoyle 2-parter, Hank Pym bowing to Egghead . . . Now the Avengers are so complicated they're like a soap opera.

And this thing you've shown here, well, I don't even get it. Who are these people?

Well, there are plenty of titles targeted at kids being published. I certainly wouldn't say any of the three primary Avengers titles (New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Avengers: The Initiative) fit the bill though. They're definitely along the lines of a soap opera, but that's sorta par for the course for Marvel and DC. The Marvel Adventures line is directed at kids specifically, and they're fun to read.

The characters here (Rage and Slapstick) are former members of the New Warriors who are being trained by the government to be part of what's called the 50 State Initiative (with the goal of putting an Avengers-lite team in every state). Both of these characters have been around since the early '90s. Rage is an overgrown kid and Slapstick is basically a living cartoon.

I'd agree re: Cap if the payoff weren't worth it, but Ed Brubaker's Captain America is still a great book. Steve won't be gone forever anyway. It's comics, and there's supposed to be a Cap (and/or Avengers) movie in the next couple years. Note that the 1940s version of Cap is coming back in May for a year-long series thanks to the magic of time travel...